Steel railroad-tie.



L. MEHLBERGER.

STEEL RAILROAD TIE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 27, 1912.

1,046,480. Patented Dec. 10, 1912.

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hi wt mwtoz \9 LOUIS MEHLBERGER wi/tvuz ooeo WWW W Patented Dec. 10,1912.

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L. MEHLBERGER.

STEEL RAILROAD TIE.

APPLICATION FILED we. 27; 1912.

Suoewi'oz LOUIS M EH LBERGER E WLWm/M w LOUIS MEHLIBERGER, 0F SPARTA,MICHIGAN.

swam. RAILROAD-TIE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 10, 1912.

Application filed August 27, 1912. Serial No. 717,345.

Toall whom-it may comma:

Be it known that I, LOUIS MEHLBERGER, a subject of the Emperor ofGermany, residing at Sparta, inthe county of Kent and State of Michigan,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in SteelBailroad-Ties, of which the following is a specification, referencebeing had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to railroad ties, and the principal object of theinvention is to construct a tie which will be easily handled and easy toconstruct.

Another object of this invention is to provide a tie having a simpleconstruction and which will be very strong and durable, the tie beingformed from corrugated resilient metal thus giving the tie a springaction and thus taking up the strain placed upon the tie as a trainpasses over the same.

This invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, whereinFigure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view through the tie. Fig. '2 is atop plan view of the tie. Fig. 3 is an end elevation, the rail beingshown in side elevation. Fig. 4 is a sectional view along the line 4 1of Fig. 2, the supporting p ates in the end of the tie being removed.Fig. 5 is a perspective view of one end portion of the base plate.

Referrin to the accompanying drawings by numera s, it will be seen thatthis invention comprises a base plate 10 which is formed from corrugatedspring steel and has its side portions bent to form the longitudinallyextending side flan cs 11. This base section is separate from t eremaining portion of the tie thus permitting thev upper and lowersections of the tie to be carried independently and thus permitting thetie to be easily carried from one place to another and then connectedtogether. This will also permit the base sections of the tie to beclosely packed when shipping the ties from one part of the country toanother thus making the cost of handling the ties a great deal less thanis usually the case. The upper section of the tie is also formed from acorrugated plate of spring steel which is bent ongitudinally to form thebridge 12 and side walls 13. The edge ortions of the and thus theoverhanging heads 27 of the bolts prevented from being bent upwardly 110side walls 13 are bent inwar y to form the inwardly extending feet 14,these feet fitting within the flan cs 11, as clearly shown in igs. 3 and4, an thus causing the upper portion of the tie to be removablyconnected with the base plate. It should be noted, however, that whenthe upper section is in place there is no danger of the sectionsslipplug since any pressure from above will cause the side walls tospread thus bringing them more vfirmly into contact with the flanges 11and causing a binding action which will firmly hold the upper section inplace. It should also be noted that the corrugations of the side walls13 will take up any undue strain thus preventing any danger of theflanges being forced open.

The bridge 12 is spllt adjacent each end portion to form tongues 15which are bent inwardly as shown in- Figs. 3 and 4 and form resilientsupports for a rail chair 16. This rail chair is held in place by meansof bolts 17. Reinforcing bands 18 are placed within theend portions ofthe tie and fit close against the upper and lower sections as shown inFig. 3. Securing rivets 19 hold the bands to the base plate and rivets20 secure the bands to the end portions of the tongues 15, the bolts 17assisting in holding the bands 18 to the tongues 15. The inner portions21 of the bands are crimped as shown in Fig. 3, and secured together bymeans of a rivet 22 thus forming a very strong spring which greatlyassists in reinforcing the end portion of the tie.

-When in use, the upper and lower sections are conveyed to the placewhere the track is to be laid and the reinforcing bands secured to theupper sections by the rivets 20. The upper sections are then connectedwith the base plate, and the rivets 19 inserted thus securely holdingthe upper section in place. The rail chair is then secured by means ofthe bolts 17 and the tie embedded in the road bed with the rails 23resting upon the rail chairs. Bolts 24 are then passed through theopenings formed in the rail chair, and securlng nuts 25 screwedupon thebolts 24 until the bolts are tightly held in place. It

should be noted that the opening between the reinforcing bands, 18 abovethe rivet 22 is of such size that a suitable wrench may be inserted totighten the nuts 25. A shoulder 26 extends from each of the bolts 24 sothat when the nuts 25 are tightened, the inward movement of the boltswill be'limited,

and thus broken ofi'. s

This tie when completed is very strong and durable since it is formedfrom spring steel and so constructed that while it is light and easilyhandled, when laid is very strong and not liable to be broken whentrains pass over the rails. The corrugations in the plate 10 formtroughs so that rain water may readily drain out of the tie.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new, is

1. A tie comprising a base plate provided with longitudinally extendingcorrugations and having its edge portions turned to form longitudinallyextending flanges, a body portion formed from corrugated materialprovided with side walls fitting between the flanges of said base plateand having its lower edges turned inwardly, rail chairs secured to saidupper section, and bracing bands secured to said upper section and baseplate beneath said rail chairs.

,2. A tie comprising a base plate, an upper section carried by said baseplate, the end portions of said upper section being cut to form tongues,the tongues being bent inwardly to form a'rail chair adjacent each endof said upper section; and reinforcing bands positioned adjacent at eachend of said tie and secured to said tongues and to said base plate,

3. Artie comprlsinga base late, an upper sect-ion carried by said base pate, saidupper section being vformed from corrugated res1li--entmaterial and being bent to form a bridge having side walls extendingtherefrom, the bridge near each end of the tie being out to form tonguesbent inwardly, a rail chair at each end of said tie secured to theinwardly bent tongues, and reinforcing bands positioned beneath thetongues near each end of the tie and conforming to the contour of thebase plate and upper section, and means for securing the bands to thebase plate and upper section and toeach other.

4. A tie comprising a base plate, an upper section carried by said baseplate and com-' prising a bridge having corrugated side walls extendingtherefrom and resting 'upon said base plate, tongues struck from eachend portion of said bridge and curved .inwardly, bands positioned withineach end of the tie and'fitting against the base plate and against thesidewalls and inwardly curved tongues of said upper section, the innerportions of said bands being crimped and secured together, and means forsecuring said bands to said base plate and the tongues of.

said upper section.

In testimony whereof-I hereunto aflix my signature in presence of twowitnesses. v.

LOUIS MEHLBERGER.

Witnesses A. B. CHENEY, Wnmm: H.

